Of the total wartime production of over 2,000 aircraft, only 15 were sent to the Pacific as potential atomic bomb carriers before the war's end. This unit's mission was so secret that, with few exceptions, the nature of its weapons was concealed even from its members.Īlthough ultimately chosen to deliver the first atomic bombs, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress was conceived, designed, and rushed into production as a very long-range conventional bomber. Army Air Forces had modified its most advanced bomber, the B-29, and had created a new, special military unit for delivering atomic bombs. The beginning of the Enola Gay's mission was the culmination of over a year's work.
![arm patch enola gay crew arm patch enola gay crew](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/3/1940s-the-ground-crew-of-the-b-29-enola-gay-which-atom-bombed-hiroshima-japan-artistic-rifki.jpg)
Soon, at 2:45 a.m., the aircraft takes off. Groves is determined that this moment in history will not go unrecorded.
#ARM PATCH ENOLA GAY CREW MOVIE#
Movie cameramen and photographers surround the crew. Paul Tibbets, to expect "a little publicity," but Tibbets and his crew are surprised by the scene on the tarmac. Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project, had warned the Enola Gay's commander, Col. Bathed in floodlights, the B-29 Enola Gay awaits the start of its historic mission: to drop the first atomic bomb on Japan. Source: The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II by the Curators of the National Air and Space MuseumĪugust 6, 1945, 2:00 a.m., Tinian Island, the Central Pacific. This unit's mission was so secret that, with few exceptions, the nature of its weapons was concealed even from its members.
![arm patch enola gay crew arm patch enola gay crew](https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/a_people_at_war/images/thumb_bomb.jpg)
The beginning of the "Enola Gay's" mission was the culmination of over a year's work. Soon thereafter, at 2:45 a.m., the aircraft took off. Groves is determined that this is one moment in history that was not going to go unrecorded. Movie cameramen, photographers and reporters surround the crew. Paul Tibbets, to expect "a little publicity," but Tibbets and his crew are stunned by the scene on the tarmac. Leslie Groves, had warned the "Enola Gay's" commander, Col. Bathed in floodlights, the B-29 "Enola Gay" awaits take-off on an historic mission: dropping the first atomic bomb on Japan. Source: The entire first draft of the script can be found in Judgement at the Smithsonian (New York: Marlowe & Company, 1995)Īugust 6, 1945, 2:00 a.m., Tinian Island, the Central Pacific.
![arm patch enola gay crew arm patch enola gay crew](https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/default/framed-print/images/artworkimages/medium/1/enola-gay-the-ground-crew-of-the-b-29-everett.jpg)
UNIT 4: "ENOLA GAY": THE B-29 AND THE ATOMIC MISSIONS Enola Gay Exhibit, First Draft-Final Draft